A note before you begin:  

 

This service was prayerfully planned and coordinated with worship planner Kayleen Jasperse  in conjunction with the pastors.

 

Our prayer is that this liturgy helps us to create cultures of worship in our homes or wherever we utilize them. May the Lord bless you as you enter into his presence and give him praise. May we each be met, blessed,  challenged, and encouraged to grow as disciples and disciple makers of  Jesus Christ.

Call to Worship: 

The Call to Worship serves to focus our attention on the living God who is present with us; it calls us to position ourselves as those who are ready to worship and ready to receive from our Lord.

 

Read the following out loud as you fix your eyes on Jesus:

From Philippians 2:5-11

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

 

Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!

 

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

 

Pray for the Lord to fill you, your household, and your home with His presence and His peace.  Fix your eyes and the focus of your heart on Him.

 

Worshiping in Song:

 

There is a Name

The Lord’s Greeting:

The Lord’s Greeting serves to remind us that we are in the presence of the living God. It makes space for him to greet us as our loving heavenly father who rules and reigns as the King over all and who is present with us as our loving heavenly father!

 

Fix your eyes on him as you read these words from 2 John 1:3 aloud:

 

Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.

 

Greeting One Another:

It might feel a little odd doing this at home, but take time to say these words to greet each other, as you shake hands, hug or elbow bump.

 

Consider sending a greeting text message to a church family member.

 

“The Lord be with you”

 

and in response: 

 

“And also with you”

 

And if you’re alone:

 

“The Lord is with me”

 

Jesus There’s No One Like You

 

To Our God

 

Testimony/Family Prayer Time:

 

How has the Lord been at work this week? Consider sharing your story with those around you or writing it down. Give glory to the Lord for the good work that He has done!

 

 

Take a few minutes to pray for our church family, neighborhood, and the world as the Lord leads.

 

Consider asking a church family member how you can be in prayer for them, or invite a church family member to pray for you.

 

 

Regular Offering:

Support ministry at Gold Avenue Church by giving to the general fund (Click the picture for more giving options):

  1. Text:  send amount (number only, no extra symbols) to (616) 319-2259 and follow prompts to give securely
  2. Give online at https://goldavenuechurch.breezechms.com/give/online or give through PayPal here.
  3. Mail a check payable to Gold Avenue Church at 49 Gold Avenue NW Grand Rapids, MI 4950

 

Song of Preparation

The Song of Preparation serves to prepare our hearts to receive the Word of the Lord.  Continue to fix your eyes on Jesus and surrender your attention and heart to him as we transition and prepare to enter into His Word. 

 

Open the Eyes of My Heart

 

The Preaching of the Word:

Our current sermon series is written in connection to and alongside a helpful tool that we have developed called the Gospel Tool. Disciple Groups at Gold Avenue Church are working through lessons that are based upon the Gospel Tool, and we want to make this resource available to every listener. Click here to check out the Gospel Tool, the Visual Gospel overview, statements, & scriptures.

 

Access the audio of the sermon here: Sermon Audio Recording

Communion

If you are a baptized member of a church that declares Jesus is Lord, and if you are walking in the light and in pursuit of righteousness, we welcome and encourage you to join with us as we celebrate the Lord’s Supper! If you are not yet baptized or are not walking in the light, we encourage you to take some time to pray and reflect with the Lord or to confess and repent of your sins.  God’s Word promises that when we confess, he is faithful to forgive! We welcome baptized children of believers to the table as parents discern they are ready, and also invite you to pray blessing over your children who are not yet ready to partake. 

 

Song of Response:

The song of response gives opportunity to consider, apply, and respond to what we’ve just heard from the Word and the Communion that we’ve just received. If you need to and are able, take a few minutes to process what you’ve just heard and experienced and how the Lord may be inviting you to respond. Sing in response as you feel led.

Glorify Thy Name

The Lord’s Blessing:

The Lord’s Blessing serves to make space for us the Lord to bless us to continue to walk in faithful obedience and to grow up into maturity.

 

Fix your eyes on him as you read the following out loud:

 

From Numbers 6:24-26:

 

The Lord bless you
and keep you;

 

the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;

 

the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace

 

Closing Song

 

Doxology

Dear Parents,

Thanks for joining us again as we do Children’s Worship from home!   

Note: Please let us know about how your family is enjoying Children’s Worship!  Take some pictures of your family participating in Children’s Worship or share a story. You can post to the Gold Avenue Church Facebook page or send by email at goldavechurch@gmail.com

Working on the Sabbath?

Based on: Mark 2:23-28; 3:1-6

 

EQUIP:  

(It’s not an activity, but just a little background on the story for you, the parent, to read.) 

 

One Sunday, I watched as a visiting family arrived early to the worship service and chose a place to sit. A few moments later, a family who had attended our church for many years came and found that “their” seats were taken. Instead of finding another place to sit, they left, and the following week they made sure they arrived at church earlier. It was sad that the family missed out on seeing God at work in the visitors’ lives.

 

If we’re not careful, we can find ourselves in similar situations. That’s what happened to the Pharisees. They stuck to their traditions and were upset when Jesus healed someone during “their” Sabbath service. This week, examine areas of your life where traditions or being comfortable where you are may hinder you from being a part of something wonderful that God has planned.

 

When Jesus’ actions on the Sabbath went against the established rules of the Pharisees, He showed the authority given to Him as God’s Son, the Savior. When we decide to be followers of Jesus, we give Him authority over our lives, too. We choose to love Him and follow His example of loving others.

 

Lisa Pham, Editor

 

Activity One:  Read the intro. Watch the video of the story.

Activity Two: Discuss the story using provided questions as prompts. Prayer.

Worship: Singing 

Activity Three:  Respond to the story by doing the activity. 

Activity Four:  Bless your children 

 

Activity 1:  STORY

 

Introduction to read the children:

 

By now, Jesus and His friends had become pretty well known. And no matter what Jesus did or said, it seemed that there was always someone watching Him who complained, argued or even told Jesus that He was breaking a rule! Today’s Bible story starts on one of those days when the Pharisees, the religious leaders, were watching Jesus.

 

Watch video:

 

Conclusion to read to the children

 

Jesus showed what God’s love is really like when He cared about the needs of the people around Him. And He chose to do that every day, not just on days when other people thought He should!  Jesus wants us to show God’s love every day, too.

 

Following Jesus is about more than just obeying a bunch of rules. When we follow Jesus, we do the things He did—we show love to other people and care about their needs. And we choose to do these things because we know that Jesus really loves us! 

 

A Bible verse tells us how we can show God’s love to others! Galatians 6:2 says: Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”  We carry each other’s burdens when we help each other and care about problems that other people have.

 

Activity 2:  DISCUSSION

  • Why were the Pharisees upset with Jesus? (They cared more about their way of doing things than about showing love to others.) 
  • What did Jesus want them to do instead?
  • What did the Pharisees choose to do? Why?
  • What would Jesus tell kids your age about doing what’s right?
  • What do you think the law of Christ is? (Following Jesus by showing His love to others. What does Galatians 6:2 tell us to do? (Carry each other’s burdens. Help each other.) Helping and caring for others is a way to do what’s right in Jesus’ eyes! How have you helped someone who was having a hard time? How has someone helped you?

Encourage children to pray for God to help them with helping others this week in their own words. Then, transition into a time of prayer for personal requests.

 

Worship Songs:

 

Activity 3: RESPONSE ACTIVITY #1

Jesus Heals Craft

 

Help kids remember this Bible story about Jesus healing the man with the withered hand and how we need to help others for Jesus. 

To make this helping hands craft, you will want to cut hands out of brightly colored construction paper.

 

Next, have kids tape (or you could glue) hands to make a circle. We found that 7 was the perfect number and made a good size circle.

 

Have the child write by themselves or with help ideas of how they can use their hands to serve Jesus by helping others. Some of the ideas included:

  • set the table
  • do my best in school
  • hold the door open for someone else
  • hug my grandma
  • rake neighbors leaves
  • clapping praise during worship

 

Response Activity #2  Print and Color

Activity 4: CLOSING BLESSING

 

Helping each other is a way to do what’s right. No matter what you do this week, look for ways to do what’s right in Jesus’ eyes!

 

(______________), once again, may you find ways to go beyond what is expected in helping others this week